Thunderbolts Review

Posted on September 19, 2026 by dreager1

A lot of people called this film the return of Marvel and I can absolutely understand that after watching this film. Thunderbolts is a lot of fun with a solid blend of humor and action. It also knew better than to have the heroes even be close to a match against a villain that they could never defeat. Ther was a lot of care that went into this one and it ends up being a strong film across the board.

The movie starts with Yelena completing another mission but feeling like her life is rather hollow right now. She asks her boss De Fontaine for something a little more heroic than all of these secret missions. De Fontaine agrees but first Yelena needs to complete one last mission. This will be her most dangerous mission yet as she runs into a former Captain America, the dangerous Taskmaster, the frightening Ghost, and Bob. Can Yelena survive this mission and find the purpose that she has been searching for?

One of the big themes of the film is that everyone here is dealing with some issues. Well, you could say that Taskmaster may be the big exception to this. She seems content enough with her mission and goes in guns blazing. Taskmaster looks a lot more impressive than you may have expected and the fact that she was able to keep up with Ghost 1 on 1 is impressive. Taskmaster grows more dangerous as the fight goes on since she can copy your moves. It was nice to see her here and in general the opening confrontation with all of the characters was a blast. I always like seeing these initial skirmishes as the characters size each other up before banding together.

Still, I’d say the theme is consistent outside of Taskmaster. Ultimately it’s going to be hard to really find a purpose for yourself if you’re a hitman. It’s not like being a hero will necessarily solve that issue but as Alexei points out, it does feel really good to have everyone cheering you on. Each of the characters have it rough and while Yelena is confident that she would win a battle of trauma dumping, I may have to give the edge to Ghost there. It depends how you interpret her backstory but it sounded to me like she cannot even keep herself stable anymore without the body suit. That seems like it would be constantly stressful and I’d always be worried about getting into any fights.

Now, it is fair to say that this film is a bit light on action compared to some other titles. There is a climax but it’s more of a subdued one with some action in the background. It’s more about banding together and finding out how to defeat the darkness without violence. So the film’s taking a subversive approach there. It ends up working and we still get a good fill of action from the first half but this would not have worked if the writing was not up to snuff. This is a perfect example of how good writing will elevate every part of the film.

The special effects are also solid as you’d expect. The film looks good so you should be absorbed pretty well. We are also back to the classic 2 post credit scenes setup. You’ve got the comedic one and then the serious one. They’re both pretty solid but the second one will probably land a lot harder if you’re a big fan of the characters represented by the stinger. I’ve never been the most impressed with these guys, but hey it’ll still be fun to see them.

Yelena is the main character of this film and gets a lot of development throughout. One of the main reasons why she is so likable is how she is actively trying to do the right thing from the start. When Bob first shows up, Yelena is the only one who really tries to defend him and make the guy feel secure. She points out that he is a civilian and stops Walker from attacking the guy on several occasions. She feels like Bob is out of his element here and as the film goes on, Yelena can understand that the guy has been through a lot.

It’s not to say that the rest of the characters were completely unfeeling, but Yelena is the only one who was really looking out for others beyond herself. Yelena has also been holding in a ton of darkness and isn’t letting it loose on the others. She does her best to push it all down and keep moving on. She has the right attributes to be a hero and is just really fun to follow. I’d also say that her sense of humor just tends to work and she has all of the funniest moments in the film.

Then we have Bucky who has a smaller role than the others but is trying to adjust to his new life as being part of the government. It’s all a bit much for him but the guy is trying. Bucky certainly feels more at home once he’s actually helping the others in combat. Ultimately it’s not like he is much stronger than the others though so he doesn’t make a big difference in the final battle. He’s a solid enough character though. The guy has a hard time connecting to his emotions which makes for a funny plot in itself.

Then we have Alexei who has absolutely no problem being emotional. He is always incredibly proud of Yelena with whatever she is doing. I always like to see that kind of support. He has her back no matter what and is good at removing the tension in a room. As a super soldier it would be nice to see him showing off that strength more but I suppose there weren’t many opportunities for that here. He adds onto the dynamic pretty well so I was glad that he’s around.

After that is Ghost who is around a lot but we don’t delve into her psyche as much. I suppose you can understand enough about her from the bits and pieces spread throughout the film. In general I would say Thunderbolts did a great job of not just spoon feeding you mountains of exposition the whole time. You’re able to just figure things out for yourself as it goes on. Ghost’s abilities are easily the most impressive which is why ever villain in the film has a homemade sound cannon. It’s her one weakness but it just shows up everywhere. In context it makes sense though since everyone knows about that weakness.

Walker is the biggest jerk of the group but that’s part of what makes him endearing. It’s easy to see why the guy is really upset at everyone. He had to deal with Falcon and Bucky gaslighting him throughout his first days as Captain America until he was fired. Then he murdered a terrorist and everyone started talking about innocents. Walker is just sick and tired of everyone being incredibly dense and it unfortunately spilled over into his home life.

It’s hard to believe that he was ever Captain America since he is really quick to go for the kill here and is provoked incredibly easy. By the end of the film he has finally started to calm down. I would consider him to be the biggest loose cannon on the team though and that’s saying something. Walker has skills and may be the best all around fighter on the group. He could probably beat all of the other members as long as he stays cool but the others all know how to get under his skin.

I’d say he’s a great example of how everyone adds something to the table. Yes, on the surface they are all the same kind of fighter who can shoot and throw punches but they can all do this at different levels. Then we have Bob who spends a lot of the time being really nervous and everything. That’s really what Bob is known for even in the comics until he finally matured. So it makes sense but I can see why he gets on all of the characters’ nerves.

Bob means well though and is always trying to help out. It would be nice if he was more in control of himself instead of being manipulated so easily though. The guy has a lot of inner demons to wrestle with and had a sad backstory. So it’s easier said than done but I look forward to seeing when this guy is more confident. He needs to be able to just master his abilities and be able to go toe to toe with anybody. The film uses his name as a fun joke and I’d say it works really well. Bob is just a fun name to say. I was also glad that he wasn’t oblivious and could tell that Walker was using his name as an insult for a while there.

Then we have De Fontaine who is a better villain than I was expecting. For a political type villain like her, the most important thing is making her actually be a clever person. If she was panicking and messing up all of her plans then that would be lame. Instead she is actually able to outmaneuver the characters throughout. She had a great scene in the old Avengers tower where she is the one pouring the drinks and making wisecracks instead of Ironman. She was in control throughout and her last scene ends up being her best one. You always want to see a character with incredible confidence like this.

Finally there is Mel and I have to say that I initially though she was Kate, the new Hawkeye. Until they mentioned her name, she just looked similar and I assumed it was just the time passing that made her seem older. She works well as the secretary though. I like how studious she is and Mel is constantly learning more and more how to use the right terms to describe all of Fontaine’s illegal activities. Mel has some doubts on what she is doing but ultimately gets on board and learns how to be a good foot soldier.

To address the elephant in the room though, this Thunderbolts team is probably going to need to add at least one big hitter to their team so they don’t get destroyed by every possible opponent. Right now assuming Bob can’t be in control of himself, they wouldn’t be able to get past almost any of the Phase 1 villains. Abomination, Destroyer, and Loki would crush them. I think they could end up beating the Iron Monger at least but yeah we need some power ups. The army was giving them a pretty good run for their money in the opening act. It’s not like power is something a team needs to have of course but if the Thunderbolts want to go by a new name at the end of the film…they’re going to need some additions.

Overall, Thunderbolts is a great title. This is one that could hold its own with the older Marvel films. I’d definitely recommend checking it out. It can be a little darker than some of the other Marvel titles but a lot of the darkness is off screen and implied rather than shown. So it doesn’t come across as being too extreme but if you are looking for a more light hearted adventure then that’s the one time I’d say to go for another one. Otherwise I really recommend this to all action fans. It will also be my new go to example on how you do a film about a bunch of villains. I feel like most titles (Suicide Squad) mess this up completely while this is a great example of how you can make them likable without softening them up. Yes, I consider these characters to all be villains who are now going to be in the light going forward. We’ll see if the praise of the masses will be enough to keep them on the right side.

Overall 8/10

Persona 3 The Movie: No. 3, Falling Down Review

Posted on September 12, 2026 by dreager1

This third Persona 3 film definitely feels like the craziest one in some ways while also being the most slice of life. Sounds like a contradiction eh? Well we really start right away with the heroes having their final confrontation with the villains that appeared in the last film and all of the shadows were taken down essentially off screen. The threat is over and our heroes have made it to a new era of peace. That’s essentially how this film starts off so most of it is the after party. Makoto is wondering what to do next and starts drifting away from the rest of the team while a mysterious transfer student shows up and decides to be his new friend. What is going on?

I’m betting that the film just had to skip a lot of the mid parts of the game in order to get to the next events or at least that’s what it felt like to me. Not a bad thing by any means but the cutting felt more apparent. I would have liked to have seen more of the intro fight though because it was looking real interesting. I’d say there is a bit less action here than in the last film but it may have just felt like that. The movie is also a bit shorter than the last one so it may be a by default kind of thing.

The opening fight was probably the best out of the 3 films so far and it was nice seeing the whole gang get in on the action. The group is really big by this point but they still all get to have their moments. Throw in a mini climax right after that with a big betrayal and it’s like the film started out with its climax. After that there is a lull until the end so how much you like this film will depend on how much you enjoy the shenanigans in the middle.

I will say that the middle could be a bit choppy at times. I feel like Makoto going through a depression arc again was a bit repetitive. It was already foreshadowed last time with him wondering what would happen when the shadows were gone so I figured he had gotten past that. I suppose instead he had secretly been dreading it the whole time. This time the arc is seemingly over for real so that’s a good thing. Makoto was really holding them back but at least this time the others were holding their own.

Each film tends to pick 2 of the friends to get their big moments and this time I would say it was Junpei and Kirijo. You could make a case for Aigis as well though. The kid and dog from the last film definitely get the shaft though. For Junpei his big character arc is about how he is in love with one of the villains, Chidori. So he doesn’t want the team to be too harsh on her even when she was actively trying to murder them. I’m always up for a good romance but I think it was a bit much to be stopping his allies when she was absolutely evil. You could say that she was manipulated a bit and her mind isn’t quite right but those do come down to being excuses.

Junpei was captured and then severely injured during the film. It was really not his best appearance and he was also unsure of how to help Makoto when the guy was going through a lot. You need a better friend than Junpei. Kirijo spends a lot of the film being depressed because of events that happened near the beginning. I give her credit for trying to handle this internally and not making a big deal out of it. It’s certainly not the healthiest approach but she is trying to move forward in the best way that she knows. I can definitely respect that and she doesn’t hesitate when it comes time to fight. That’s something the others can really learn from.

Aigis has to deal with the fact that her mission is seemingly over and she handles it better than Makoto. She is determined to keep moving forward and stays by Makoto’s side. This makes for some pretty effective comedic scenes and she has really earned her spot among the group. As a robot her one weakness is being controlled by others so hopefully she can get more security soon. Aigis is a determined fighter though and even at the end of the film she is the first one to act. If only the others had taken her warnings more seriously.

So how about this new mysterious kid named Ryoji? Depending on what you’re expecting from the character I’d say that the film tipped its hand a little too quickly. I mean it all just feels very obvious on where they were taking his character but I guess I have watched a lot of anime before. He seems like a nice enough guy but the nonstop flirting can be really obnoxious. Definitely the kind of character that you wouldn’t want to take too seriously or he’ll just be upsetting the whole time. He should be playing a big role in the next film though and I expect he will look a lot better there.

The soundtrack is great as always. Persona always has really good tunes and this one doesn’t disappoint. They are forced to use action themes even for comedic moments like being stuck at the hot springs since a lot of the film isn’t in a tense situation. It works pretty well though and the film largely avoided having too much fanservice there. There was definitely still some though which is why you never want to follow up a beach adventure with a trip to the hot springs. That’s really just asking for trouble if you ask me.

I already talked about this before but to enjoy this film you are really going to need to like the characters. A lot of the film is about them going on a field trip, working part time jobs, etc. It’s not going to work for you if you just want the climax to happen right away so just don’t go in with that mindset. I’d probably have trimmed down the side quest stuff a little bit but it doesn’t seriously drag on. You’ll just feel some second hand embarrassment from the stoic Makoto doing all of these little tasks while presumably his friends are watching and wondering what’s going on. It would be odd for a friend to stop talking to you and then you see him hanging out with someone new and having a bunch of goofy adventures.

Overall, This was a pretty fun film. It’s really not what I was expecting with this next part. I suppose in the game it would be the calm before the storm but I wonder if this was really expanded or they cut out a lot of bosses in the middle. In theory even the calm parts would have had some night sections right? It may not have been as action packed as I may have hoped but I’m invested in the characters enough where the slice of life was still good. If anything it’s almost a bit foreboding where you are waiting for something to happen. There were a good amount of twists and turns here as well as a real body count so it’s not like the stakes got lower. These characters got to have a little more fun than most main character groups though so that’s a W in their corner. As long as you enjoy a good slice of life with some action then I’d definitely recommend this one.

Overall 7/10

Rooster Cogburn Review

Posted on September 12, 2026 by dreager1

Rooster Cogburn is one of those titles where you would have no idea what the film is about. It’s such a general name but hardcore fans of True Grit will know that this is a western right away. This title plays it very safe and ends up being a decent western title. You’ll either appreciate the subtlety it is going for or you’ll end up finding it to be a bit boring. There’s not going to be much in between. For me I thought it did a pretty good job. It’s not terribly exciting but keeps your attention well enough and also avoids some of the classic western issues.

The movie starts off with Roster taking down some more thugs but he is called into court. Unfortunately the town has decided to move in a more nonsensical direction and does not want to see Rooster murdering criminals anymore. Rooster is stripped of his badge and forced into retirement which has him feeling rather bitter. Naturally the judge and the town quickly realize that they are doomed without Rooster as a group of bandits steal some powerful nitro. The town is forced to call Rooster back in for one more adventure. Is Rooster too old to deal with these guys?

Right away you can see how absurd the town is though. The fact that they were so quick to fire Rooster was crazy. Now Rooster is no saint. The guy gets drunk way too often and has slowed down a step but it would have been nice if the town could have found some real examples to call him out on. The self defense shooting we saw at the beginning of the film was completely justified. If Rooster didn’t shoot then he would have been dead. That’s just how it worked back in the wild west and the town looks naïve to think otherwise.

Rooster was right to be sore at how he was quickly fired like this. He showed no remorse and that’s a good thing because he didn’t make any mistakes there. The rest of the deputies are so scared that none of them even want to accompany Rooster so he goes off on a 1 vs 9 kind of fight. That’s basically unwinnable to be honest.

It turns out that he won’t be completely alone though as he runs into Goodnight and a kid named Wolf. They are the last survivors after the same group of thugs stopped by their house and murdered everyone. Goodnight is certainly no big fan of violence but is no damsel and ends up joining the adventure with her gun. Wolf is a bit too young to be super helpful but is still around to cause distractions as needed.

It’s a real team effort and from here we get a lot of banter with Goodnight and Rooster. The writing is pretty solid in general and their dynamic ends up working well. Goodnight is definitely right that Rooster lets himself go too much with all the drinking and tries to help him be more introspective. I don’t think it really works as I feel like Rooster really doesn’t listen to anybody but at least he warmed up to having her around.

Goodnight has a lot of brave scenes like when she stands up to the thugs as well as saving Rooster from one shot. She’s definitely a solid heroine through and through. Wolf is okay but tends to forget how young he is and tries helping a little too much. That may not sound like a negative but sometimes you really do need to take your own power level into account or you just end up getting into a whole lot of trouble.

The villains are more on the forgettable side. There is a whole lot of infighting which helps the odds for Rooster. One of the main villains is a turncoat who used to work with the sheriff. He is an expert at explosives and helps in using the nitro. He’s clearly a cut above the rest of the lackeys but at the same time is still afraid of the main villain. The main villain really has a strong chokehold on his whole group and is always threatening or murdering them. He really never stops.

There is a decent amount of action here as we get several fight scenes. They’re all handled well but it feels like the villains have a whole lot of plot armor at times. Rooster and his crew get the drop on them initially but don’t end up picking off a single one. Yes, Rooster’s first shot was a warning one since he is trying to take them in alive but after that he should have been landing direct hits. These guys are all dangerous murderers after all and Rooster has always ignored the town’s orders before. It felt like too many shots were just being missed.

I suppose that’s a factor in all westerns though. This one just felt like it stood out a whole lot though. Still we got a solid climax here and the whole film is handled well. The writing was the most important part of course and the pacing was also good. The film’s main appeal is probably for when you want to show someone a western without it being too gritty. Despite being a sequel to “True Grit” there is absolutely nothing gritty about this adventure.

Overall, This is a very safe film that doesn’t really make any mistakes. The fights are good and I liked the dynamic between the two leads. The movie could have probably given the traitor more to do which would have led up to another solid fight. I enjoyed the villain cutaways with all of the dysfunction over there but it didn’t ultimately lead to a whole lot. This film isn’t super long or anything but there was enough runtime to add on another subplot. It just doesn’t have much of a hook so the movie is good but you won’t be thinking about it much afterwards. I guess it’s the definition of a good popcorn action film.

Overall 6/10

Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter Review

Posted on August 16, 2026 by dreager1

This review is of the TV-14 version of the film. All thoughts should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for another vampire film and this one is made by Horror. Needless to say, this was doomed from the start. Both of those things are usually connected to the absolute worst films around and when you mix them together then that’s a recipe for disaster. Ultimately this film was not able to rise above my first impressions there and at best you can give it credit for some original decisions.

The film introduces us to Captain Kronos who is a powerful fighter. He has been slaying vampires for a long time along with his partner Professor Grost. This time he is tasked with finding a potential vampire in a small village. This will not be an easy task as Kronos will need to lay out some traps and gradually begin getting suspects. In the meantime this vampire will keep on picking more and more people off. Kronos also runs into a lady named Carla who was about to be executed. After saving her, she decides to become his girlfriend but is there any time for this?

Okay lets blast through all of the issues first. Right away one of the big ones is naturally going to be the usual vampire violence. I’m not big on the blood sucking at all and that is always a main part of this genre. It’s a bit different than some others since the vampire is more interested in stealing vitality but equals out to the same thing. The vampire also uses the usual hypnosis to force the victims into accepting their fate rather than running off to live another day.

We’ve also got the very shallow kind of romance at the ready here. Yes, Kronos saved Carla’s life so you can see why she would be grateful but this doesn’t immediately have to turn into a relationship. She jumps right into the one night stand kind of situation without batting an eye. I feel like the Hammer films like to use any excuse for a bit of fanservice. It’s not as crazy as in some of their other titles but still comes across as unnatural.

The characters also aren’t all that interesting. Professor Grost is easily rage baited by the villains to the point where he doesn’t realize that they were being paid off to instigate a fight. Both Kronos and Carla seemed to figure that out right away so why didn’t the professor? He is a good ally to have around and helps out a lot with the weapons and everything but you feel like he could have done a whole lot better.

As for Kronos, well I suppose he’s your classic hero. I don’t get the feeling that he is the most dependable guy in a relationship with how fast he was moving here but maybe he wouldn’t rebound later on. His fighting skills are pretty good though and surpass the film’s budget. He essentially vanishes mid combat to show off how fast he is. I appreciate that from a power level sense but then his final plan is terrible. He sends Carla into the vampire’s lair as bait and then takes his sweet time to get there. He takes the time to look at a skull in the upper floors and this distracts him while Carla is attacked.

If not for a significant degree of plot armor, she would have been dead. Prior to Carla, all of the other victims were destroyed right away. A good example of this was earlier in the same film. The heroes all staked out the location where the vampire would be striking and a girl was walking on by. Well, they lost sight of her and so she was destroyed before she could even get close. Not a good look at all. It’s why you feel like Kronos should have done a lot more before the ending.

As for the vampire, well the identity of the final boss is a twist of course. Still, I wouldn’t say that the villain was very impressive or imposing. This long term plan had a ton of risks with it and I would say that the character even got lucky. It’s not like vampires ever tend to be all that interesting but this was still pretty egregious even for that. You also had a pair of siblings who are around for lore but don’t do much of anything. It was a little funny to see them standing so still in the background during the big battle.

The final battle is essentially fencing so it wasn’t terribly interesting but I give the film some credit there. Still, there is just nothing really to enjoy about the film. If you heavily lean into the action angle then it is possible to make a vampire film that is actually decent but it is incredibly difficult and not something that just any title can do.

There isn’t much to talk about regarding the setting as it looks like basically any old town. The writing is okay I suppose but just about everyone in town seems to be evil. There aren’t many characters that Kronos can count on. The doctor who invited him there had to be bumped off naturally and it wasn’t the most painless way to go out either. The other humans at the bar didn’t even need to be mind controlled because they were already content to murder the main characters for a little money. With humanity being so corrupt in this town, it’s no wonder that a vampire was able to get so far.

Overall, This film was definitely a mess and is not going to end up being known as a solid title. It does at least try to have the usual twists and turns but ultimately comes down to just being another slasher title. It takes forever for Kronos to stop the vampire from murdering everyone and so the victory feels hollow. It doesn’t even make all that much sense on why Kronos left without Carla. She totally could have kept going on the journey and instead it seems like he’ll probably just be rebounding before now. Perhaps this could have become a really cool movie series some day but that day isn’t today.

Overall 1/10

Black Clover Review

Posted on August 9, 2026 by dreager1

It’s finally time to take a look at one of the greatest manga titles of all time. Black Clover is one of those titles that you just wanted to keep on going and going for as long as possible. It definitely lasted though so at the end of the day I was pretty satisfied. It has earned its place among the premier Shonen Jump titles like Bleach and Naruto. You’ll want to get on this series as soon as possible.

The story starts by introducing a boy named Asta who was born without any kind of magical abilities. This puts him in a really tough position because in this world magic is everything. People learn to treat people like dirt from a young age based on how much magical energy they have. It’s essentially unheard of to have no magic power. What makes this even worse is that Asta’s childhood friend and rival Yuno is a prodigy with incredible amounts of magic. Asta chooses to fight on though and gets recruited by the Black Bulls. They are a magic guild for misfits and all have some kind of quirk. Now Asta will finally be able to make some friends and can also learn to master his special skill, anti magic.

Now I know what you’re thinking, isn’t anti magic a bit of a cop out? The short answer is yes but it’s worth it because otherwise it would be difficult to show exactly how Asta can hold his own against all of these powerful foes. Anti magic works just like normal magic and can effectively do anything but the biggest draw is that it can cut straight through magical attacks. It essentially nullifies all of them with a direct hit. You can see how valuable this ability is now right?

Of course it wouldn’t be a great ability if the user couldn’t keep up. Fortunately Asta spent his entire life working on his physical abilities to make up for the lack of magic. As a result he can move faster than most and his physical strength continues to impress people throughout the series. Asta tends to win most of his encounters and absolutely crushes those who are obsessed with their magical abilities. If you use them as a crutch then you will definitely be in trouble.

The series has a classic Shonen Jump tone to it so you can expect to have a lot of fun here. There are consistent themes of improving yourself and never giving up. That’s a big part of Asta’s character after all. He never gives up no matter how rough things get for him. Even when he is painfully rejected and has his friends turn against him, Asta continues to fight. “I’m not done yet” becomes one of his catchphrases and it works well. A lot of Shonen leads tend to have unbreakable wills but I would say that even among them Asta tends to stand out. He just takes this to the extreme and it works incredibly well. He’s a big part of why Black Clover is so good.

A top tier series will come down to having an amazing main character after all. You need to have someone you can root for and that is Asta in a nutshell. He is a super well rounded character and is always inspiring to follow. Asta also hopes to be the Wizard King someday so you can expect to see him yelling about that quite a lot. It’s always good to have a central goal and Asta never wavers in it.

There is a pretty big cast of supporting characters and we’ll definitely be getting onto those shortly. Before that I also have to talk about the amazing artwork here. This is one of the absolute best ones that Shonen Jump has to offer. The artwork is strong and has a lot of detail throughout. Each fight scene really works perfectly and this is the kind of story where the chapters absolutely fly by as a result. There is no title that can easily crush this one in the art department.

Clover also does a great job of mainly avoiding fanservice. That is the cast for a lot of the modern Jump titles but is still always worth mentioning. For a title this long it’s not going to be at 0 of course but it’s pretty close to that in the grand scheme of things. The series also isn’t afraid to have some romance but I wouldn’t say it’s one of the strongest titles in that respect. They were actually building up a pretty decent plot with Noelle and Asta but didn’t really close the deal there. In a way that’s a good thing since Asta always had she’s for Sister Lily instead. You probably don’t want to go down the rebound route there so I suppose it makes sense.

As with any long running series there will be some plot threads that don’t feel resolved by the end. This feeling gets magnified when you are reading weekly and then chapter by chapter once it stopped being weekly because you’ll see people commenting about the plots they couldn’t wait to see. This includes some demons that don’t really get closure or backstories that aren’t delved into. It’s going to always be rare to complete every plot in a long series like this though and I was satisfied overall. The series ends with a big battle that I had been waiting for throughout the series after all. If I had any regrets, it is just that we never got to see the big 3 all team up for a fight. Asta, Yuno, and Noelle are consistently shown as a power trio but never actually team up against an opponent in the end. I did think that was a missed opportunity.

Okay now let’s get into the characters. Yuno is the big rival in the series and works as a very subversive kind of character. At first you expect he will turn evil at some point or grow jealous of Asta as the lead goes higher in the ranks. Instead Yuno is supportive throughout the series and it’s why I consider this to be one of the healthiest rivalries in all of Jump. Yuno is the kind of rival you would want to have in real life because he will help build you up instead of knocking you down.

He did grow up together with Asta so it was nice to see that this didn’t suddenly get thrown down the drain just because they became rivals. Yuno continued to be friends with Asta at the same time and it was just a great dynamic. Every time Asta would get a power up, Yuno would answer with one of his own. In general I always felt Asta was a bit stronger thanks to anti magic being a full counter to magic but they were both super powerful. Yuno has that cool air about him that always guaranteed him a high spot in the ranks.

Then we have Noelle as the main heroine of the series. Initially she was unable to control her magic powers which is part of why she was in the Black Bulls. She technically always had a great amount of magic power but without control it would just make her a danger to everyone. As the series goes on she has different people help her out with this and she makes a bunch of friends. It’s a very classic kind of character arc that works really well. I was especially glad to see her keep pace with the other characters all the way through to the end of the series instead of getting left behind.

Her fighting style was a lot of fun with all of the super speed. Speedblitzing tends to be one of the most enjoyable fighting styles to watch and this was no exception. Noelle’s backstory was also handled extremely well from start to finish. It was just the right amount of emotional without being over the top and had great closure by the end as her mom even got brought into the picture.

Acier is mostly a flashback character until the final arc when a bunch of the old characters get brought into the present. It’s not exactly her usual personality but the spell does a good job of keeping their humanity with a new set of moral guidelines. As a result it feels like we still really got to see Acier and her brilliant abilities. That was a lot of fun and Clover is one of those titles where the previous generations could actually hold their own against the modern ones.

Just look at the original Wizard King who continues to be one of the most powerful characters even in the present. He was able to handle one of the original devils and briefly returns to fight another one. He was a lot of fun and I wish we could have seen more of him. It’s hard to juggle every character though so I need to be satisfied with what we got. His assistant Secre also ended p getting a pretty good role in the present. Her locking abilities were really good and could work in more combat situations than you may have expected. She was a fun addition to the team even if she came in a bit later on as well.

Black Clover also had a fully operational legal system at the ready with Damnatio judging criminals. He shows up more than once and is not a fan of Asta. He feels like the anti magic stuff is too far outside of the norm and has to keep the lead in check. It leads to one of the best moments for the Black Bulls as they roll in to save him. I liked Damnatio as an antagonist even if I can never see him as a hero. His sense of justice is far too rigid and ends up being a detriment all of the tie. If he had been at least a little reasonable that could have been different but he never ends up helping. With allies like that, who needs enemies?

Now lets go through the magic knight squads. Nozel is the head of his group and is also involved with Noelle’s backstory. He’s her older brother and does not treat her very well at all. The series tries to walk this back a whole lot later on but it was too late for this guy. I’ll say that the series did a pretty good job of making each character very layered. In many other titles he would have been a one note bully but that wasn’t the case here. Outside of the Noelle context he was a well respected captain and consistently portrayed as a hero. This fault was just big enough where I certainly was not going to be rooting for him anytime soon.

It doesn’t take away from his strength, the guy is definitely a beast in combat. You want him on your side in a fight without a doubt but it would be hard to call someone like that your comrade. This is a criticism you can have for a great deal of the characters. To an extent they all buy into this corrupt system or at least don’t try to overturn it. Even Julius who by and large appears to be a kind wizard king doesn’t upset the status quo. It’s not like this would be an easy challenge but Asta and many others had to put up with a lot of grief that shouldn’t be there. Whether Asta or Yuno became the wizard king, you could count on them changing the status quo completely.

I suppose leaving the kingdom is one way to avoid the issue. Mereoleona is one of the most powerful characters in the series and ultimately she chose to just live in the wilderness. She prefers to be around the beasts and this also helped her to become one with energy. Once she shows up, all of the other fire characters quickly became inferior by comparison. She really stole the show in each fight and was definitely a fantastic character. Mereoleona may have entered the game later than a lot of the other characters but left an immediate impact. I also just tend to really like aggressive characters like her.

Fuegoleon is the actual captain of the fire crew and while he is strong, he doesn’t tend to appear a whole lot. He is written out of the series for a large chunk after losing an arm and even by the end never catches up to Mereoleona. He still looks good though and has more honor than most of the other characters. I also really enjoyed his speech about how there is no shame in being weak, only in remaining so. As with most things in life, there are ways to improve if you put in the effort and he only judges those who never try to improve.

He had a protege named Leopold who was initially set up as another rival to Asta but then ended up vanishing for most of the series. I feel like he was originally meant to have a bigger role and then something happened. I still enjoyed his character and he’s a solid fighter to have around but never quite lived up to his full potential. Partially because of how quickly he was written out, I would not say that he ended up being one of the stronger fighers in the series. He got a last second power up but I didn’t really buy into it.

Then we have Mimosa who likes Asta but she has a lot of competition in this series. I’d say the only issue she runs into is also a lack of screentime. We just don’t get to see her very much and most of her scenes are about Asta. We needed to see more of her motivations and character moments to really get her up the rankings. I ended up preferring Lily and Noelle but at least Mimosa did her best to improve her battle abilities so that she could help Ast out. She ultimately means well.

Now lets talk about some of the Black Bulls. We’ve got Gauche who has a gag about being really close to his sister. I’d say that gag tends to get overplayed right away. The anime would actually try to liven things up and get him to be a bit funnier but in the manga he tends to be one note. Gauche is very strong but from the Black Bulls he tends to be on the weaker side in terms of personality. He actually tried to murder Asta early on for very petty reasons which was really hard to come back from. Certainly not impossible but it was a rough first impression.

Then there is Charmy who has a big backstory based on the lore but we never fully get to see it. I think there were bigger plans for her as well. Her power set is pretty fun though. On one hand she is a berserker and on the other she can bake a lot of tasty food which can completely restore a person’s magical power. In short, she is an incredible ally to have in a support role. She’s someone you can really count on and is just a lot of fun.

Finral is a character who started out a little rough but got a lot better. He starts off with a bit of a doomed romance and tries to ignore these feelings by being a huge flirt all the time. He has a tragic backstory with his brother as well and so there was a lot on his mind. As the series goes on he gets to have more serious moments. His teleportation abilities always had a lot of potential and he got to fully realize them by the end of the series. Finral is a character with no shortage of character development and it was nice to see him improve. It’s not like he’s one of my top characters by the end but without a doubt I can say that he improved in a major way.

Then we have Gordon who unfortunately gets the short end of the stick when it comes to screentime. We never see much of his backstory and he never gets a definitive solo fight. His poison abilities seem to be pretty handy but we just don’t get a lot of exposure to it. Maybe the author had trouble thinking of how to have the poison users fight. He mumbles a bit too much for me and lacks confidence but he’s not the only one in that boat. Grey is another member of the Black Bulls who is super shy.

I was expecting Grey to get more to do as will but that never ended up happening. I suppose even for a series as long as Black Clover there would be some characters who just don’t get to have a ton of screentime. Nothing to do about that I suppose. Grey was a nice enough character but I did want her to show some more confidence by the end. In a series like this about determination and teamwork you really want to see each character go out of their shells by the end.

Nacht is a Black Bull who showed up near the very end but had no confidence issues at all. He is quick to talk smack to the other characters in fact and never wavers there. I liked his shadow powers and he made for a nice wild card. He wasn’t afraid to smack talk the captain and stir up arguments among the group. As one of the original members that just comes with the territory so nobody could really stop him on that front. That’s always a fun way to have a character get into the dynamic. He really brought something fresh to the group.

Then we have Luck who was one of my favorite members of the group. He started to get power creeped a little by the end but for the most part was always ready to fight with everybody. He uses lightning based powers which come with a lot of speed and savagery. Always an incredible combo to have in a fight and he always spurs the other characters into training even harder. He’s a really cheery guy and was also one of the first ones to treat Asta equally. Luck never cared about ranks and such, he’s just not that kind of guy.

His bantering buddy Magna was also a fun character. Now I admit that I always found Magna to be rather weak so I don’t take him too seriously in a fight but he actually gets some pretty big wins in the series. Again I kind of shake my head at those a bit but a win’s a win. Magna’s an old school kind of guy who believes in respect and duking things out fairly. He’s a fun character to have around and tends to get rage baited by Luck a whole lot. He’s one of the central pillars of the group so the team wouldn’t be the same without him.

There is also Vanessa who has powerful abilities as a witch. She can effectively rewrite reality but it does take up some energy. So she isn’t completely invincible but ends up being one of the more powerful characters as a result. I was not expecting to see this kind of ability in one of the heroes so that was pretty cool. She got her own mini arc which is more than some of the other characters can say and ends up being a main supporting character throughout the series.

There’s also Henry but he gets a really small role due in part to how late he joined the crew. Even once he is around, the guy doesn’t appear much since he can’t really be outside. The only way for him to survive is by staying within the Black Bull hideout which limits the amount of screentime potential that he has. I wasn’t a big fan anyway but he definitely has a tragic story. It’s hard to imagine how difficult it would be to have to always be indoors.

Then we have Zora who joins up a bit later in the series but is also a lot of fun. He really likes sticking it to the nobles which is a good way to get revenge. They certainly put his family through a lot after all. While Asta’s form of revenge may be to just live his best life and prove everyone wrong, Zora likes to take more direct revenge. He’s a fun character without a doubt and always a lot of fun to root for. He’s far from being one of the more powerful fighters but makes up for it with his trickery. Zora is also a very loyal ally that you can count on and fits in really well with the group.

Finally we have the captain Yami. People often joke about how he feels like the main character of another series. He gets a lot of power ups as well as a whole lot of lore. He knows all of the big players and remains relevant in all of the arcs right through to the end. It’s easy to root for Yami and he just makes for a really good character. Asta manages to surpass him by the end but until then Yami gets his share of end arc bosses. We also have a super awesome team up with him and Asta against one of the demon triad. It’s always important to have a good mentor figure and Yami absolutely fits the bill there.

He may have set the standard a bit too high for the captains as none of the others can really catch up to him. Dorothy is one of the captains who doesn’t get a lot to do. She has dream type powers which are certainly handy but not quite as formidable or invincible as the other captains. Dorothy never gets a really big fight where she can show her stuff so that was disappointing. Pretty much all of the other captains got more to do.

Take Jack for example. As Yami’s rival this guy gets several fights to himself. I personally never thought he was powerful enough to be Yami’s rival but his swords are sharp. That’s essentially his whole gimmick, he has the sharpest swords possible. It’s hard for any of the other fighters to really keep up with him in a straight fight but since Jack has no other abilities there are a lot of ways to hit him from a distance. By the end Jack started learning how to cut intangible things so that would help a lot but it was almost at the literal end of the series that he got this power.

Charlotte is a strong captain as well and she has a bit of a romance plot going on with Yami. He tends to act oblivious the whole time but you can tell that it’s an act for most of it and he just likes to give her a hard time. She is relatively powerful but is another character who we didn’t get to see fight as much as you’d like. In a way her most impressive abilities showed up while she was evil or losing control. In theory she is way more powerful now but there just weren’t enough big villains to go around. She still got enough fights to show her overall strength as a captain though.

Rill is one of the lucky captains since he gets a full blown fight with Yuno midway through the series. That was a super good battle and showed the kind of abilities that you would expect from a captain. I’d say that Yuno still had the slight advantage overall but it was an extremely close fight. Rill’s ability to draw whatever he wants is a super versatile ability. Drawing tends to be broken in most titles after all so this one was no exception. Personality wise he can be a bit too much like a kid but is not bad overall.

Then we have Vangeance who gets a whole lot to do. He has powers over the trees within nature and is fairly strong. I was never super impressed with him but he is portrayed as being incredibly powerful. Perhaps I ought to put a little more respect on the trees. I was never a big fan of the guy but his role within the series is a good one as it spurs on a whole lot of other plot developments. I also thought he had a pretty cool mask.

Finally you have the Wizard King himself. Julius has powers over time which is absolutely impressive. Definitely the kind of abilities that make him more powerful than almost anyone in the verse. There is really no weakness to this ability and the only way to overpower him involved hostages. One thing I really appreciated about Julius was how ruthless he could be. He had absolutely no mercy towards the villains and would obliterate them without a second thought. His first priority was always to protect his kingdom no matter what.

It was to the point where there were many theories about how he was actually evil. I get it, Julius has that kind of aura about him but sometimes you need that in a hero. He keeps the villains on guard and makes sure that the title of wizard king is one that is feared by all villains. That’s exactly the guy that you want at the helm of your kingdom. For that reason the author had to use different tricks to keep him out of the front lines most of the time.

Then we had some other magic knights who weren’t captains but still had a pretty big role. First up is Langris who really goes crazy during the tournament arc. The whole Black Bulls team had to go in to shut this guy down. There were extenuating circumstances as he usually isn’t that crazy but it definitely made for a really intense moment. Langris also has an incredibly cool ability where he can destroy anything in his line of vision. It’s a rather broken ability to be honest. I can’t say that I ever became a fan of his as the guy is too petty but he made for a good villain.

Alecdora is one of those magic knights with a pretty good design but his role in the series is as small as can be. I suppose you can’t win them all. It was still nice to see the guy though and it helped as a way to flesh out the other guilds. Klaus is another guy who didn’t have a huge role but this way Yuno had more real teammates at his side. Asta quickly gained his respect over time which was also good. Klaus isn’t a particularly strong fighter otherwise.

Sekke is one of the main comic relief characters of the series and to be honest he never really gets past that point. His abilities don’t have much potential in the first place and it’s not like he trains all that much. For that reason it’s actually a good thing that he didn’t improve much because it wouldn’t have really made any sense. He was funny at least and so he does serve his purpose. If he wasn’t funny then that would have been a problem.

Sister Lily is a fun character from the introduction arc. She gets more of a role in the climax than you would expect. I was super satisfied with how her character arc went. She never betrayed her own values while still getting to show off her amped up abilities. There wasn’t a lot to do with her character but that makes sense. She never overstayed her welcome in this way while still helping Asta to move forward.

Other early characters like Kahono and Kiato didn’t get much to do later on but were still instrumental in the opening. Without them around as encouragement the heroes wouldn’t have done so well. They also ended up being fairly memorable despite pretty much being one shot characters so that’s impressive. Keep in mind that there are plenty of other characters throughout the series but it’s hard to cover everyone who shows up. I mainly stick to the really big characters.

There is a clan related to Yami’s backstory near the end for example that has a bunch of members. Most of them don’t really stand out though because they really showed up during the end game. Ryuya was the leader and definitely has one of the bigger roles. He was really good at staying 4 steps ahead even if he didn’t get to fight much. The one with the big combat role was Ichika instead and she was fun to have around. Definitely a bit of an emotional fighter but always keeping pace with the others. I would have liked for her to have debuted a bit earlier so we could have had more banter with her and Asta.

Then we had the bigshot members of the other territories like the Witch Queen and Lolopechka. The Witch Queen felt like a character who would have a bigger role later on but that never really happened. It’s too bad because there was a whole lot of potential right there. Her curses were the real deal after all but it’s hard to say how well she could fight hand to hand. Lolopechka was definitely less of a fighter but had powerful retainers like Gadjah to fight in her stead. I was never a big fan of Lolo but Gadjah was fairly solid. He also came a bit late but was a very stoic character who served his purpose.

Finally there was Liebe who served as Asta’s partner demon. This guy showed up really late considering that most demon partners tend to be around from arc 1 in these kinds of titles. He still ended up being very likable right away. He had a very emotional backstory and just works well with the banter. The only weak point here is his lack of screentime since he really could have stood to have had more screentime.

Now lets go into the villains. First up we have Revchi and Rades who showed up really early on. They were honestly pretty decent as far as intro villains go. Revchi helped Asta really find his fighting spirit while Rades worked as the classic insane kind of villain. It would have been nice if he could fight more instead of hiding behind his zombies the whole time though. Summoner villains usually don’t have a whole lot of long term impact because they fold once you get lose to them.

Then we have Mars who showed up as another strong villain. He actually gets a decent amount of backstory and appears a bit more than you’d expect. I wasn’t as big a fan of his as I expected though. I think he just returned a little too late and should have gotten way more to do throughout the story. It would have worked way better for his character. At least he wasn’t a total oneshot like Ladros. That guy did not end up making any kind of an impact by the end because of how briefly he was around.

The villains from the midnight group were all pretty fun. Vetto probably left the biggest impact because of his spectacular fights. I also just really like it when characters are fighting head on like that. He just moves faster and faster as he adapts to his foes and never relents. Even by the end of the series I would say that he was one of the more fun villains. Simple brute types can really wok well like this.

Sally has less of a combat role since she prefers to do her experiments. I felt like this series didn’t have a whole lot of room for the mad scientist type though so her role was not nearly as big as you would expect. Fana also had a lot of potential with her flame abilities but didn’t get to fight for too long. To make up for that she does have a full backstory though. I thought it was handled pretty well. She still left more of an impact than Valtos. I mainly just remember the guy for getting punched out by Asta. Definitely not someone who is really ready for close quarters combat like that.

Then we have “Licht” who makes for a really good end boss. The guy gets a lot of twists and developments but really was portrayed as a great threat. His abilities are light based which means that they move incredibly fast and are hard to react to. Ultimately this is a character who probably should have died in his arc because the elves never get much to do after this. I felt like there was no point to bringing them back. Same for Rhya who was a really good villain initially and then ends up just being around.

It’s a cautionary tale of why you shouldn’t keep villains around unless you really intend to keep on using them. If you don’t, then letting them end off in a bang is really the way to go. You can make that case for someone like Adramelech who showed up later as well. His character never gets a real conclusion so he could have just been defeated in an earlier fight. It might be that his role was always meant to be very subversive but as a reader I can’t say that it was very satisfying. Letting him be taken out of the picture earlier would have been a good idea.

The demons all tend to leave solid impacts though. Lucius is the final villain of the series and he has a great design. His motivations are pretty fun and there is just a lot that you can do with time based abilities. Towards the end of the series he probably monologues a little too much which buys the heroes time to defeat him. He should have taken them all more seriously but alas that is how a lot of villains end up being defeated. They just believe in their abilities way too much while discounting the powers of the heroes.

Dante is a villain with a cool design but he does fall down somewhat over his goals. Being girl crazy is a trait that will really never help a villain out. Far as I’m concerned it just makes him look really petty the whole time. He was really powerful so I enjoyed his fights but the guy has the weakest personality out of the triad. Vanica is vastly superior with how much set up we got for her vs Noelle. She was also one of those villains who just wouldn’t stand down. Long after the human part was gone, her devil continued to fight more and more.

She was also crazy in all of the right ways that just made her a lot of fun to watch. You’re guaranteed to remember her by the time you’re done with the series. She left an impression and had enough power to back it up. Same with Zenon who continued to fight hard for a long time. His bone powers are really cool and his victory over Yuno was one of the pivotal moments in the series. Yuno is someone who is mainly untouchable for a large chunk of the series so seeing him get beat like that was crazy. Zenon is probably the quietest member of the trio but perhaps the most powerful. I’d say that’s pretty debatable though.

The devils like Lucifero and Megicula were also really solid. Lucifero did become a bit of a meme within the community with how much the heroes were talking down to him though. I think that’s almost unavoidable when you are around for too long though. If you haven’t taken care of business in a few chapters then people are going to clown on you. That’s just a natural effect but his fight was still super cool. The devils all had a lot of aura to them and kept the heroes on the back foot. The same goes for Beelzebub and Zagred.

There were other devils around who were really powerful as well including some that never got to appear in the end. The series just had to wrap up before it had time for them. We still got a ton of content out of this including a whole time skip for the final arcs. Black Clover is ultimately a series that had an incredible run and I was glad to be there for it. There’s naturally a lot more to be said for the series but I’d say that hits all of the main beats.

Black Clover has a tournament arc, the devils arc, and an invasion arc. As long as you like these classic Shonen setups then you will love the series. It handles them all extremely well and the build up is completely unmatched. There is really nothing to dislike about the series and everything to love. It really embodies all of the best traits of Shonen Jump titles and dials them up to 11. I’ve written several editorials about how amazing the series was as a result of this and I could picture myself writing more in the future. Maybe one day we’ll even get a sequel series.

Overall, Black Clover is an exceptional series and one that I would absolutely recommend. You’ll be able to have even more fun now since you can binge the whole series without having to wait week to week. The final chapters in particular were rough since you had to wait months for the next installment. I’ll always remember this one fondly and it’ll be hard to any future title to match this one. This was a top 10 manga of all time after all and I don’t see it getting knocked out of there anytime soon. The anime is coming back in the near future too and I’m expecting another high tier production like last time.

Overall 9/10

Mega Man Legends Review

Posted on August 6, 2026 by dreager1

It feels great to finally play Mega Man Legends because that game has been around for so many years. I had hoped Capcom would go ahead and start a remake but they really dragged their feet on that. So it was time to play through all of the games thanks to PSN. The game is retro in all of the right ways with a fun artstyle and even full voice acting. No excuse for newer Mega Man games to not follow suit if you ask me. The game is a bit short but does have plenty of extra content.

The game follows Mega Man and his friends who crash land near a small town one day. They figure it won’t take long to get a power source and leave but it turns out that a crew of treasure hunters is around. They are not going to make things easy and then Mega Man finds himself knee deep in a big conspiracy. He will need to see this through to the end now and must make sure that the town is safe. This won’t be easy, but it is absolutely a job for Mega Man.

Right away you will be impressed by the 3D environments. The town is extremely large to the point where it takes up almost 7 areas. There are plenty of people to talk to and shops to visit. The amount of replay value in here is really impressive because of the side quests. I didn’t really touch those when playing through the game but can see how they would be useful. This game is fairly difficult and so a big part of the game is about earning money. You want enough cash to get a lot of upgrades and power ups.

I spent a full 90 minutes on just grinding money and I’m glad it did. I got my missiles leveled up a whole lot and this came in handy for a 3 phase boss fight in the sky. It worked for the whole game with the exception of the final boss who is actually a bad match up for the missiles. I had to finish the game with the basic mega buster but it does the job. Just make sure you open up every chest because the parts in there are incredibly useful. Without them it is safe to say that I would have been on the back foot.

The best tip I can give you is to constantly be moving side to side. You can fire the buster as long as you do that, but note that you can’t shoot while moving backwards. So keep making a circle around the boss and jump when an attack is about to land. With a little practice you’ll be able to dodge just about everything that gets thrown at you. The missiles are incredible for damage but do add a second of end lag to the beginning and ending of your attacks so you should keep that in mind.

You are always given the choice to choose between attack, range, ammo, and speed. Choose wisely since it isn’t possible to max everything out. Fortunately you can change your allocations at any point so you really should experiment. Range and attack are the most important if you ask me. Some enemies literally cannot be hit if you don’t have enough range after all. Ammo is the least critical since it’s rare to run out of weapons but I guess that may depend on your gameplay style.

The graphics are definitely really good and have held up throughout the years. The soundtrack can be a little less memorable but still sounds good on the whole. I don’t really have any issue with the technicals here although it’s worth noting that the voice acting can be really hard to hear at times. It felt like the audio was going up and down throughout. I was still impressed to have had full voice acting here though. The game probably just needed some subs or text boxes.

You’re going to be spending a lot of time in the dungeons throughout the game so keep in mind that you don’t have to beat them in one shot. If you want to just farm money you can go through a few rooms and then leave. I did that a lot while trying to get money for the various power ups. It’s a really good strategy so I would say to just keep that in mind. The game will be a lot easier if you even just buy a few power ups so you shouldn’t try to go it alone.

As for if you want to focus on your weapons or Mega Man himself, that’s up to you. You won’t have enough money to do everything and that’s why for the weapons I would recommend just sticking to one of them. If you mix and match too much then you’re going to not see as much progress. By sticking to the missiles, I was able to get it very overpowered before long.

We’ll see if the next game can beat this one. There are a few quality of life things that could be improved like your running speed. I know I said the town was large before but part of that is also because Mega Man can’t run very fast. So it takes him longer than you would like to get places. Especially if you get lost which can happen once or twice. Near the end of the game you’re told to go to the old city but turns out you were supposed to go to the re right outside of Old City. That threw me off for a while there.

Overall, Mega Man Legends is definitely a game that I would recommend. The most important thing to consider here is just how fun the game is. It’s really a blast and a half throughout which is really important. Additionally the story gets a little more intricate than I may have guessed by the end of it. The voice acting helps a lot but same with the characters just being a lot of fun. This is certainly not your average Mega Man adventure that’s for sure. There is a lot of room left over for the next game to pick up on some story elements and I’ll be playing that before long. The city environment is also just such a great backdrop because you don’t get to experience that very often.

Overall 7/10

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Review

Posted on August 2, 2026 by dreager1

Demon Slayer continues to dominate the box office every time it appears. People have really been enjoying the action here and I look forward to the next two films seeing similar success. Ultimately this one lives up to the hype of essentially being 2+ hours of nonstop action as the only breaks are with the various sob stories. While I wouldn’t put it above Mugen Train and its masterful climax, this one is very close.

The movie starts off with all of the slayers falling into Mugen’s trap. His infinity castle comes with an infinite amount of demons in addition to the last of the upper ranks. The heroes must try and destroy the immortal Muzan while he is still weakened from the various poisons. The most difficult part will be in tracking him down though. The guy could be anywhere in this labyrinth and the heroes have to keep their guards up at all times. A single misstep and it will mean their end.

As this is just the first part of a 3 part saga, you should expect a lot of characters to get the shaft. Most of the various Hashira appear but only two of them actually get big fights in this one. Fortunately for Tanjiro he gets to step into one of the fights so the main character will not be absent from the proceedings. If you tend to be a plot first kind of guy then the film might end up lacking for you but know that the true story of any title is hidden within each blade clash.

There are 3 main plots in the film. First up is Shinobu against Doma. Doma is the 2nd strongest of the Upper Rank demons and generally you would need two Hashira ranking fighters from the heroes to go up against one of these. Shinobu has never been known for her raw power either as she strikes with poisons. Unfortunately upper ranks are pretty resistant to such tactics. This battle is all about Shinobu trying to find a way to stop Doma and to avenge her elder sister who fell prey to him in the past.

Each fight in the film tends to follow the same pattern of fight, then origin story before the climax. Doma’s is certainly not about making him look sympathetic at all but showing just how desperate the humans around him can be. They were desperate to find easy answers instead of just realizing that the real world doesn’t work like that. Meanwhile Shinobu got a brief backstory but just to explain why the fight was so personal. Doma is one of the creepier villains with how sadistic he is so that’s a lot or Shinobu to have to deal with.

The fight is super solid although it does feel like Doma is toying with her for most of it. If he got serious, she would seemingly not be much of a threat to him. The movie definitely establishes why Doma is such a big threat but Shinobu does good the whole time and never gives up. She really did justice to her title as a Hashira. The rest of the characters would have been proud.

Then in the second fight we have Zenitsu going up against Upper Rank 6, Kaigaku. On the surface this should be a stomp in the demon’s favor because Zenitsu is several ranks below a Hashira. He is hoping that Kaigaku’s lack of skill will be the difference here. Naturally this also involves a backstory and a lot of personal feelings all the way. Kaigaku is another guy who isn’t really meant to be sympathetic and you can appreciate that for a villain. That being said, it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t care when Zenitsu tries telling him about their old mentor.

The guy’s a demon, I bet he stopped caring many years ago. I did like his design though and the fight was definitely real intense. Zenitsu is also someone who may seem out of character to people who watched the anime. Usually he is the comic relief character who is always panicking but this fight is an exception. He looks tough from the start and really does great. I like the idea of someone being able to lock in for the most important fight of his life. If not then, when would you ever be able to gather up the courage right? This was a good way to cap off Zenitsu’s combat career but hopefully he’ll show up more soon.

This film’s really about the finial fight though and that’s where the hype was coming from. Akaza shows up once more as Upper 3 to take down Giyu and Tanjiro. It’s clear from the start that only Giyu has a chance and yet it’s tough to defeat someone who has infinite stamina. The longer a fight drags out, the more a demon gets the advantage. No sunlight will be making it into the castle either so that makes things even more difficult. The fight is the longest out of the bunch and really has a top tier animation budget behind it.

We get to see different power ups from the heroes as well as Akaza while the fight is underway. It was nice to see Tanjiro improve as he was mostly just a liability for the start of the fight. He means well though and I would say that Tanjiro is definitely a quality main character all the way. Even in this film which is more about showing each member of the cast, you can tell that Tanjiro is the main character. He has the big emotional flashback near the end and gets the big power up after all.

Akaza is the only villain with a sad backstory. It does a good job of not absolving Akaza’s crimes in it though. A lot of what happened to him is directly the guy’s fault after all. He made some really big mistakes and paid quite heavily for them. Ultimately he was probably the most dangerous of the villains, I dare say I would put him above Upper 1 and Upper 2. Fans may disagree on that based on the ranking system itself but nobody had Akaza’s sheer adaptation.

As for Giyu, he continues to be one of the best characters in the series. He’s certainly not big on showing emotions but doesn’t let it dull his blade. He does get annoyed when Tanjiro ruins the element of surprise but I get it. Tanjiro could have gotten a clean kill there instead of showing off. Sometimes when the stakes are so high you need to go for the sneak shot. It may not seem super honorable and all but this is a fight to the death with demons.

I was surprised that the film didn’t end with more of a cliffhanger though. I would have had a quick ending with Inosuke joining a fight or something like that. I guess the one catch to a part 1 fight like this is that some characters really didn’t get to do anything. It’s probably why we had almost 20 minutes at the start of the film to show everyone fighting off a bunch of demons. That was definitely an intense opener and I’ll take those crumbs until we get the next two films.

The animation is top tier as you would expect. The colors are incredible and the choreography is great. Ufotable is still one of the best animation companies of our generation and they do not hold back with all of these battles. This title does get pretty violent at times so I would say to keep this in mind if you’re not too good with violence. There is a high body count particularly thanks to the backstories and the humans tend to meet rather painful ends. There is also a random scene of a bear getting murdered that could have been cut. We already knew understood the concept of hiding aura so that could have been done a different way.

I would say that generally the film doesn’t linger on any one kill for too long. It’s probably a bit borderline though, the kind of title where just a bit more would probably have started to affect the score somewhat. You never want to go full Attack on Titan after all but at least we didn’t have people begging for their lives while being eaten or anything like that. This one is still more of a battle Shonen first and foremost. The soundtrack is also pretty good with a solid amount of variety and a good Akaza remix. I was listening to some of the tunes while writing this review and will continue to check some of the others out as I go forward.

Overall, I would definitely recommend checking this film out. As long as you enjoy good fight scenes then you’ll have a real blast here. The only context you need is given during the battles and honestly it’s always clear who the hero and villains are. This isn’t one of those titles like Netflix’s DMC series where they’re trying to make the demons sympathetic. The demons are self explanatorily evil and the humans have to wipe them out so nobody else gets hurt. From there you can just enjoy the excellent choreography and maybe it’ll inspire you to go back and check out the previous seasons of the anime.

Overall 8/10

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Review

Posted on August 2, 2026 by dreager1

Aquaman has returned for the big sequel. This one’s definitely taking a bit of a different approach from the first as it goes for the buddycop genre this time. It’s a pretty good idea since the banter tends to be fun but Aquaman himself tends to hold that back. Ultimately this one’s a bit of a roller coaster with a lot of ups and downs but by the end I’d still say it was a good film.

The movie starts off by showing how Aquaman has been a terrible ruler to Atlantis. He has let the council walk all over him and finds himself bored with all of his official duties. What he doesn’t realize is that Black Manta has been taking this time to work on a plan to destroy the ruler. Manta is working with a mysterious villain in the shadows who has been granting him great technology and physical abilities. Aquaman will need to find a way to track this guy down before his plan can succeed. The only way to get around this is to team up with his old foe…the Ocean Master!

Ocean Master, aka Orm is definitely the best character here. It’s easy to see how he would have been a great king. He has the right temperament for it and also has a lot of experience and general knowledge. It makes sense since he was raised to take the throne from birth after all. Now to balance this out the film does show that Aquaman is the stronger fighter. Still, it’s not by a wide margin and Orm tends to outshine him in all other categories. If the series had kept going it would be interesting to have had Orm be the main villain again. Have him make a play for the throne, not because he is crazy but because he thinks that Aquaman will be the downfall of Atlantis. Additionally more screentime for him would not be a bad thing since Orm is also responsible for all of the film’s funniest moments.

I mentioned earlier that the banter doesn’t match some other titles and none of that is Orm’s fault. He dominates in every scene that he has with the exception of Aquaman tricking him into some gross humor. Yes, Aquaman is one of the weakest parts of the film. I can’t say that I’ve been a big fan of his portrayal over the years and this may be his most drastic one yet. The guy can’t really handle any serious conversations and constantly thinks with his muscles. He gets the two of them into trouble many times and never grows into the ruler that he could be. You just wouldn’t want to be friends with this guy.

I would argue that he doesn’t have much of a character arc here because I don’t think he would handle any of the situations differently in a future film. With solid writing you could probably get around that but this isn’t really the film for that. The humor tends to miss most of the time and relies on more crude humor than I’ve seen in a long while. The movie even has to repeat the worst jokes more than once in case the audience didn’t get it.

The movie can have some decent humor like Manta toying with one of his minions or Orm subtlety insulting Aquaman but it does tend to get overwhelmed by the negative moments. The worst jokes are what keeps this film from having real replay value because you just wouldn’t want to go through it all again. It’s the type of movie that will do its best through Youtube shorts for the best moments.

There is definitely a lot of action in the film but not too many fight scenes. The two best fights in the film are when Aquaman fights Manta in round 1 and then the 2 v 1 against him in the climax. I wanted to see more of that because those fights were bright and fast paced. You really get to enjoy the choreography there and feel the intensity of the battles. The film nearly gives us one more but chooses to end the climax on more of a gag this time. It’s a decent gag but personally I wanted to see the big villain get to fight. Based on the hype he was getting, that would have been a really epic showdown.

The general action scenes don’t work as well because of how many involve being underwater. It’s been many years and films still have yet to make underwater fighting all that much fun. Without a place to land and pivot, fight scenes don’t have the same depth. There tend to be a lot of giant encounters as well so you’re not getting much choreography there. I still appreciate having the action of course but will always prefer fight scenes. The special effects were pretty solid all around though. I’m glad they kept in the shockwaves for all of the big power attacks because that’s still the best way to show off super strength.

Black Manta is the main villain for most of the film and definitely does a good job there. He constantly makes sure that his underlings are following his lead. He’s not looking for sympathy or anything and is just focused on his big revenge mission. He comes close to taking out Aquaman on different occasions and honestly should have the edge most of the time since his heat laser can take out just about anyone in a single shot.

Stephen is a particularly weak character though as he just seems wishy washy the whole time. He knew from the start that he was joining the villains by working for Black Manta. It’s way too late in the game to be having second thoughts about that and I certainly didn’t take them seriously. I would have preferred for Manta to take him down at some point.

Manta has another much more loyal subordinate but she ultimately doesn’t get to do too much. Of course there is Manta’s partner from the shadows who is really solid but ultimately doesn’t get to do a whole lot here. Aquaman’s supporting cast get to show off their powers a bit but for the most part this is the Orm and Aquaman show on the heroes side. If they ever made an Orm solo title that could be a lot of fun. The stakes by the end of the film are high enough where I dare say we should have seen some guest star appearances but I suppose everyone might have been busy.

Overall, How much you enjoy the film will probably depend on how much you enjoy Aquaman and the humor style of the film. If you enjoy them both then this will probably be an elite film because the rest of the film’s fundamentals are sound. If you don’t enjoy them, then you are counting on the action being enough to get you through this. Hopefully if we get another Aquaman film someday the humor style will be a bit more mature. At the very least you don’t want scenes that really make you cringe like some of the moments here. Just try to focus on the fights and Orm showing why he should be the proper king of Atlantis.

Overall 6/10

Lost Soul Aside Stats and Records

Posted on August 1, 2026 by dreager1

PS5 Trophies 19/38

Lost Soul Aside Review

Posted on August 1, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time for one of those PS5 games that you see everywhere. It always looked pretty fun although I don’t think the cover does it any favors. Almost looks a bit uncanny like an action figure or something. The actual game’s artstyle is more like a typical Final Fantasy adventure though so don’t let the cover fool you. This is a great game but one that could have stood to have more content overall.

The story starts by introducing us to a world where the empire owns its country with an iron fist. The people have risen up through a resistance group known as GLIMMER. The main character is a member of this group and is also a “gifted one” which means that he has super powers. Unfortunately these powers are not enough to turn the tides of battle so he went off to train. Upon his return, the lead ends up meeting an ancient dragon lord named Arena who gives him true power. This would be enough to end the world but then the kingdom is attacked by aliens who are led by Aramon. This guy wants to end the human race and in the process he absorbed the souls of many humans. We now have to stop him as well as the emperor and in particular save the soul of Kaser’s sister.

The plot definitely starts fast here and introduces a whole lot of characters right away. I really enjoyed the fact that there were 3 factions here because it immediately makes things more interesting. Kaser is essentially forced to work with his life long enemies here but knows that they can betray him at any moment. That’s a good amount of tension to be working with here. Ther is also a lot of extra lore through the pages that you pick up along the way but generally I wouldn’t say any of it is too crucial. The main plot is within the game that you’re playing after all.

I will say that the story can get a little slow during the middle part though. You’re really interested in fighting Aramon and the Emperor so when you have to fight a bunch of reskinned bosses you just want to get to the next cutscene. There is an impressive amount of boss battles here with at least 50 but a bunch of them are reused as the game goes on which makes this a little less impressive. The game does leave a little room for a sequel should they ever want to do that.

The strongest aspect of the game is the gameplay though. It plays like a 3D beat em up and you have to use a mix of dodging and blocking to get past the waves of enemies. I spent most of the game blocking but by the end it was incredibly difficult to read the opponent moves so I relied more on dodging. Each style has its set of pros and cons but blocking is best if you are comfortable with the timing. By blocking an opponent’s attack you reduce a lot of their stamina and it also causes them to freeze up for a good chunk of time. This gives you some more free hits right away.

The beginning of the game is when it is the most difficult because you don’t have any arena powers or upgrades yet. Interestingly this is an example of a game that continues to get easier as you go on because your upgrades are incredibly broken. Additionally the game has a great XP system so you are leveling up constantly. The more you die, the stronger upgrades you unlock so I dare say there are even some roguelite elements to this title. I guess everyone wants to add those nowadays. The combat is super smooth and there are so many different attacks that you can use. You can really have a field day equipping all of the fun ones that you want.

Now the game does have an issue with the menus though. I think the devs needed to workshop these a bit more because they are not intuitive at all. There is a whole crafting section of the game and I never used it because I just couldn’t figure it out. The parts you need to make the weapon are unclear and the weapons seemed weaker than the base ones so it seemed pointless. Every weapon I unlocked naturally were also weaker than the base one so I stayed with my starter equipment the whole game. There has to be something that I was missing.

There are also boss rushes and survival challenges but there didn’t seem to be an upside to doing them. I suppose they give you online trophies for completion so down the road they would be useful but not during the campaign. There are too many options in the main menu to choose from and as a result I didn’t pick any. It’s a fairly small deal but the kind of thing that does separate an average game from a top tier one.

I did enjoy how easy it was to acquire money and items though. Now I will mention that the game has a super guide type feature where you can skip any puzzle automatically by talking to a blue diamond. I decided not to do that since it felt cheesy but I guess that’s good if you really don’t like puzzles. Trust me, I’m not a big fan of them but skipping them entirely like that will always be a last ditch effort at best.

This game really had a lot of fun trying out different gameplay styles. For the most part these additions were a bit pointless but they don’t take away from the game. You’ve got skateboardig, mecha fights, aerial combat, grappling, platforming, puzzles, etc. The game was trying to use every kind of gameplay style it could think of. Ultimately it would always go back to the combat you were looking forward to though which is the important part. That is the ultimate highlight of the game after all.

The graphics are pretty good. This may not be a full AAA type title but it holds up well enough. I liked the character designs and the colors are striking. The gameplay itself is particularly colorful. The soundtrack is also pretty good with some really solid tunes. The boss themes definitely will not disappoint. The overall campaign length is around 15 hours too which is fairly solid. There is virtually no replay value though so your best bet is in trying to get all of the trophies. That will definitely take you some time because the game is really relentless on that front. I won’t even try to achieve the platinum in the foreseeable future.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this game. It may be a hard sell for $60, but I got it for $10 thanks to Prime Day. If you can get a price like that for this game then I highly recommend doing so. It’s a steal for that price and either way the gameplay alone is enough to make you want to get this game. If they ever do make a sequel, I’ll definitely be picking that one up.

Overall 8/10

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